‘FRIENDS FOR LIFE’.
A hard hitting play about three 15 year old girls & the court case that surrounds them. Friendship, violence, paedophilia & loyalty. Recalling a time when she was 13. First performed 2008.

STACE: Anyway we got home from the cinema and CJ went running through to the kitchen to find Mum. I went upstairs... (breathes out heavily) I went upstairs and I went into our bedroom- we’re all in the same bedroom, as you know, me and CJ share bunk beds and me sister Donna’s got her own bed cos she’s older. At first I thought she was sleeping but then I realised she er… that she wasn’t the only one in her bed cos, em, well cos erm, Dad got out of the bed and he shouted at me. He shouted at me for not knocking on the door and he, and he quickly did his trousers up. Then he pinned me up against the wall and shouted at me for being ha, for being “a worthless shit who can’t even manage to look after my little sister for the morning in the fucking cinema.” And I knew that Mum could hear downstairs because he was shouting so loud. I knew she could hear and that she would come upstairs and stop him... only she never came.

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‘TRAINING FOR THE BEACH’.
Excerpt from a short Victorian play. Geraldine is bossy, over-bearing and demanding. Arthur is her long suffering husband. They are about to travel by train for their annual summer holiday on the coast. Performed 2008 and 2009 as part of a commission.

ARTHUR: Balls!
GERALDINE: I beg your pardon!
ARTHUR: My balls!
GERALDINE: Arthur really!
ARTHUR: Tennis balls! I didn’t pick up my tennis balls!
GERALDINE: Oh! I thought you- no, no! That would be obscene… even for you!
ARTHUR: I wonder if anyone will be game?
GERALDINE: Pardon dear?
ARTHUR: I said I wonder if anyone will be up for a game?
GERALDINE: Of tennis?
ARTHUR: I want to do it on the lawn.
GERALDINE: Well where else!
ARTHUR: At the court.
GERALDINE: We’re not going to Buckingham Palace dear! You’re not going to play the Queen!
ARTHUR: Nothing wrong with playing a Queen!
GERALDINE: No I meant in Portsmouth!
ARTHUR: Well, in my experience there is always a Queen up for playing in Portsmouth!

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‘FRIENDS FOR LIFE’.
A hard hitting play about three 15 year old girls & the court case that surrounds them. Friendship, violence, paedophilia & loyalty. Recalling a time when she was 13. First performed 2008.

Chan gets up to go to the kitchen but although it was not at first obvious she now winces in pain as she turns.

NAN: What’s the matter dear?
CHAN: Oh it’s nothing.
NAN: Got a few aches and pains dear, well that’s the flu for you. You just wait until you get to my age love. No, you don’t want to do that. Life is bloody miserable when you get to my age. Best years of your life right now dear. Best years of your life. You get older, it all goes down hill. You mark my words. Oh no, you don’t want to live to be as old as me. Lonely. Don’t understand the world I don’t. I look around me and I don’t recognise the place. If my dear mother were alive today, may she rest in peace, if she were alive today- she’d think the world had gone raving mad. Walking around with your faces hidden, talking to yourself. If it ain’t these stupid hoodies, its women with all their faces covered. I don’t understand it dear really I don’t.
CHAN:It’s religion Nan-
NAN: What those hoodies? Damn silly religion if you ask me-
CHAN: No Nan, I meant-
NAN: If they’re not all covered up; they’re hanging out. Oh disgusting it is. You see these women hanging out their trousers. I don’t know what is bigger?

She motions with her hands.

NAN: Their top cleavage or their bum cleavage? Oh disgusting! At least they let me travel on the buses for free. Well they’d have to wouldn’t they, you wouldn’t want to pay to be subjected to that! And they walk around talking to themselves! World’s gone mad it has.
CHAN: (Smiling) Its wireless phones Nan, blue tooth.
NAN: Blue what dear?
CHAN: Tooth.
NAN: Oh well, you get to my age dear- you ain’t got not one tooth left. I tell you, you don’t want to get to my age. Teeth? The other day I nearly swallowed mine! Oh we’ve been talking so much I clean forgot to put the kettle on.

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‘FRIENDS FOR LIFE’.
A hard hitting play about three 15 year old girls & the court case that surrounds them. Friendship, violence, paedophilia & loyalty. Recalling a time when she was 13. First performed 2008.

STACE :For ages I hated Donna. I wouldn’t talk to her. Some sister! Somehow I thought it was all her fault. I know its not now but- when your 13 you don’t really know what to do, what to think. Anyway after like a month or something, it was the weekend and CJ was at a sleep over, she had just started secondary school, anyway it was just me and Donna in our bedroom. Mum and Dad were getting drunk downstairs, we could hear them laughing and laughing and Donna whispered- I remember the room was in darkness except for a slither of light under the door from the stairs, and Donna whispered “Stace” she whispered “Stace are you awake?” I didn’t answer. I lay there and thought how dare she- how dare she whisper to me in the darkness laying in the bed where she and Dad had- I wanted to be sick, well I did to begin with. But a few moments later she whispered again, softer than before “Stace, Stace please don’t ignore me. I love you Stace, I only let him so he wouldn’t do it to you. I’m so sorry.” I could hear she had a tear in her eye, that’s sounds silly, but I could hear it. I didn’t reply, I pretended to turn over in my sleep and I rolled over to face the wall and I felt sick again. But this time it was a different type of feeling sick. I couldn’t sleep, I used to sleep for England but, that night I had this new feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was like a hand being thrust into my stomach and grabbing it and twisting it round and round and then I heard, I heard Donna cry. Crying in her bed, in the bed I caught her in with Dad, and her bed was next to mine and I wondered why it had been her and not me? And if she hadn’t have done it, would it have been me? And if not me then CJ? Eugh! That made me feel really sick. It started to get light, so I got up early that morning and came up here. Up to the park, I watched the sun rise, come across the fields in the distance. I watched the sun slowly, slowly come across the town. The air is so fresh in the morning, you know, before the sun rises. So clean, so clean and innocent. I’m sorry Nita- Fancy some sweets?

Blackout.